eyes like sea-glass
by little miss jolie
Summary: Some wounds can't be healed with time, because the clock is broken. But it doesn't mean they can't cherish the moments before and after the breaking point. {percabeth and others anthology}
1. Chapter 1

**a/n: hallowww im back**

 **i know like years of inactivity and i decide to write prompts and shat**

 **yeah**

 **so um im gonna be super inactive on fictionpress because this summer i've just been burying myself in fandoms and fanfics so its like I MUST FOLLOW THE CALL OF THE FANGIRL**

 **so yeah**

 **lets get this party started**

 **ALSO I SWEAR THE NEXT CHAPTER IS HAPPIER**

 **XXXX**

 **prompt- unraveling at the seams**

 **XXXX**

It is because she knew that time couldn't heal all wounds, and Percy is suffering.

Gaia is a long-forgotten memory and Kronos like a distant fairytale land, but the amount of loss he suffered would never leave him.

She knows that she loves him unconditionally and he loves her too, but he still keeps his walls up and won't let her in. He smiles and nods and says, "Annabeth, I'm fine," but she knows better.

It's in the way he holds himself, it's in the way he gazes off into the distance, in the way he screams in his sleep, slashing at unseen foes in his nightmares; it's in the way he smiles with just a barely noticeable trace of melancholy and loss.

Annabeth knows a thing or two about loss. When the truth that her family would forever ostracized her, never accepting her and how dysfunctional they are, it crushes her. So she runs away.

She then meets Luke and Thalia. For a while, everything seems alright. She has a family. A place to be. So it's all okay.

Then she loses Thalia. She can still remember the way she cried, the way Luke had to drag her and Grover up the hill, the way her friend's silhouette is an flickering beam of electricity in a mass of darkness, the way she loses her family all over again.

Then she slowly finds a new home in Luke.

Then he defects and this time she's not sure if she can handle the loss. Then she finally loses Luke, and it's like she might as well throw herself off Mount Olympus.

But, time and time again, she realizes Percy has saved her and been her home for all four years.

So she finds him, and they're happy.

But Percy suffers from the end of the war. From Leo, his regrets about Calypso, from every single tragedy and casualty. It's far too much of a burden for any 17-year old person to bear.

And so when he's screaming, shaking with silent tears rolling down his face, she holds him tight and hugs him and lets him cry on her shoulder. And she says, "I won't leave you, Seaweed Brain. I'm always going to be there."

And he says, "I know."


	2. Chapter 2

**a/n: yes yes yes i know angst**

 **because that's what happens when you listen to the SnK soundtrack**

 **aNGST**

 **this one is gonna be happier**

 **mostly crack and fluff actually**

 **OKAY HERE I GO**

 **XXXX**

 **prompt- roadtrip, sun-kissed hair and blue skies**

 **XXXX**

So when Annabeth walks into his room, Percy isn't sure what do it. He's packing up for Camp Half-Blood when the door to his room in his mom's apartment swings open, revealing a familiar figure.

She walks in all nonchalant, clad in shorts, a loose t-shirt (his face burns as he notices the bikini she wears under the entire outfit), hair pulled up in a messy ponytail, and gray eyes glittering.

"Let's go on a road trip."

He deigns the most intelligent response.

"...what?"

He's really, really, really just confused.

"I said, let's go on a road trip, Seaweed Brain." She crosses the room, and presses her lips to his ear, whispering the words.

He turns an even more violent shade of red.

She laughs, and he can't help but smile too. He twirls her around the room. He decides her laugh is the most beautiful sound in the world and as long as she is happy, he will be. And he will do anything to make her happy.

"We need to tell Chiron first."

XXX

One borrowed bus from Camp Half-Blood, and then they are off.

"Where to?" Percy asks, eyes scanning the streets carefully as he makes a right-turn.

Annabeth sits in the passenger's seat, struggling to hold a map upright. "Um, I want to go a beach… somewhere sunny and warm."

He thinks hard. "California. But that's so far away."

She presses a quick kiss to his lips, and he momentarily loses his focus and the bus swerves. Their luggages in the back bump against each other and roll around.

"Eh. We'll get a flying chariot or something."

XXX

One week later, they are standing on the shores of California.

It's a sunny and perfect day- unlike anything in New York. The climate is perfect, with blue skies and plenty of sunshine and a few clouds. Not too humid at all.

The beach has white sand softer than anything either of them have ever felt, and a few palm trees sway in the breeze. Just off in the distance, like in books, families play with rainbow inflatable beach balls and colorful umbrellas cropping up from the sand.

"This is perfect, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth murmurs breathlessly, eyes closed and head tilted up towards the sun.

And Percy has to marvel. The sunlight splashes across her face, illuminating it and making her seem like a goddess (and he knows what he is talking about). Her blonde hair seems sun-kissed, the light playing on her hair and so she seems like she is wearing a crown of gold. She stretches like a lithe cat bathing in the sun.

And he finds that he couldn't agree more.

XXX

After a night at the small beachy, neat and clean motel they found on the coastline, Annabeth decides that they should drive somewhere else.

"Where else, though, Annabeth?" Percy asks, shoving his clothing into his suitcase. Annabeth rolls her eyes as she snatches the clothes away, neatly folding them and stacking them inside.

"No idea." Her eyes sparkles. "Let's go to Vegas."

Percy checks the map. "That's only about a couple hours away from here. I can probably rent a car. And, uh, I vote to not stay at the Lotus Hotel."

She pecks a kiss on his cheek. "Agreed. I'm really not too worried about how long it takes. It's about the journey, not the destination, remember?"

XXX

And so he rents a cherry-red Maserati Spyder (and he practically salivates in awe, trailing his fingers along the vibrant red paint) and they stuff their suitcases in the back. Annabeth hops into the passenger's seat, and Percy takes the wheel.

It is a beautiful day to be driving out. They wind through the narrow streets along the coast, the ocean at their left, and the small shops and restaurants and apartments with pedestrians in flip-flops, swimsuits and shorts and t-shirts walking along. Palm trees line the side of the road

It's so bright, Annabeth has to don sunglasses. It's perfect and warm outside, so Annabeth sheds her hoodie and casually leans out of the convertible. Her white t-shirt ripples in the wind, and her hair flows out behind her in a ponytail and the sunlight glares on her dark shades.

They are infinite.

XXX

As they speed along the highway, Annabeth once against engages the map in an aggressive wrestling match with the map.

(Percy tries to not laugh, but ultimately fails to stifle his laughter.)

She glares at him. "Gods, Seaweed Brain. You want to give this a shot?"

He laughs. "Nah. We'll just get even more lost."

Annabeth can't help but to grumble her assent, growling as the map whacks her in the face.

The highway is mostly empty, as it is one of those roads to stretch from the middle of nowhere to a place of somewhere. They are in the middle of the desert, with nothing but cacti and tumbleweeds in sight.

"Seaweed Brain, are you sure we're going the right way?" Annabeth can't help but be worried.

And with that beauteous and perfect mischievous smile, he says, "Wise Girl, as long as you're there, I'm happy."

And so Annabeth decides even if they end up somewhere in Oregon, she'd be okay. Because he's with her.

XXX

 **a/n: um hi yes i know i took that line from the perks of being a wallflower, liek the best book evarrrr**

 **also next prompt is 'liar liar pants on fire'**

 **guess which shipping**

 **CALEO YAYYYY THE SHIP THAT WAS LIKE A YUNOYUKKI**

 **IT ULTIMATELY HEALED MY HEART BUT SCREWED IT UP TOO BECAUSE THE FRICKING ENDING OF THE BLOOD OF OLYMPUS SUCKED**

 **K THNXS BAI**


	3. Chapter 3

Nico watches from a distance.

Hasn't he always?

It's nighttime, and the summer air balmy and thick with the scent of smores and the sea. The sun has just dipped below the horizon, and the familiar constellations Nico has always found solace in peek out from over the ocean waves. Orion, Pegasus, Hercules, and so many more.

Lying on the sand, on the beach, he traces their shapes with a finger, imaging each glittering dots connecting by a shining line to the next glittering dot. The ocean laps at his feet quietly, its waters like obsidian; black, smooth, and glassy.

It's as dark as his hair..

Nico can't help but peek at him.

He's sitting by the campfire, not too far away, laughing and telling jokes. He talks, sometimes making hand gestures, Nico notices. When he smiles, he has a couple of dimples even. His posture is relaxed as he is plopped down on the log and warms his hands by the fire.

But even from where Nico is, he can tell that his eyes are trained on somebody else. His eyes, though darting from face to face of his friends, are mostly focused on Annabeth sitting next to him.

She smiles, too, and laughs, though more reserved and wry. Her attention, as well, is completely trained on Percy. Sometimes, when Percy seems to have told a particularly bad joke, Annabeth rolls her eyes and swats him on the arm.

Nico traces the lines of Percy's nose, lips, jaw, and eyes like he traces the constellations. Percy, for better or worse, had always been his star.

But it was unfair. Nico was forced to watch Percy fall in love with Annabeth, though Nico likes her plenty. He was forced to watch Percy commit his entire being- his life, his soul, his heart, to Annabeth.

And not to him, he says to himself with a ring of bitterness.

That's unfair, he tells himself. Percy and Annabeth are a perfect match for each other, and they are happy together. Nico could never bring himself to try and ruin that.

But even so, that doesn't dull the ache inside of him. It's a quiet ache, something like a longing, unobtrusive for the most part. Sometimes it'll remind him that it's there in the form of a sad, lonely feeling, knowing he's alone.

Always will, always have been.

"Nico."

Nico blinks, focusing on the face in front of his as the fog clears.

As he takes in Will's golden hair glinting in the dull firelight, his determined blue eyes alight with concern and affection, his tan skin, the hurt falls away. Will is leaning over him, hand outstretched.

Nico reaches for Will's hand, and as he does, warmth pools in his stomach as shivers dance down his back.

No, he's not alone anymore.

Will heaves, pulling Nico up. They lace their fingers, standing to face the others around the campfire.

Will looks at him with those beautiful blue eyes. "Let's go back to the others."

Nico hasn't felt happier in a while. "Okay."

xxx

 **a/n:**

 ***coughs***

 **uh, hi?**

 **XD**

 **i know its been a while**

 **i have no idea where i wanted to go with this fic i just got back from traveling and im tired and just wanted to write out this piece of pico/solangelo angst**

 **XDDDD**


End file.
